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git il tstra strut @ffi IMPROVED. GAB COUPLING.

I SPECIFICATION. TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: Be it known that I, THOMAS S. MInNIss, of the city of Meadville, in the county of Crawford, in the State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and improved Coupling Pin for railroad cars; and I do hereby declare that the followingis a full and exact description thereof, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon. I.

The nature of my invention consists in making a pin with a pendent trigger at its lower end, connected with a hook or pawl to catch into a recess or notch in the front side of the pin-hole, While its upper end -is bent over backwards, so that when in gear'the whole Weight of the pin may rest upon the inner end of the link, and prevent its proj eeting end from lopping down-when approaching another car. 7

To enable others skilled in the artto make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

A is a drawhead of the ordinary flaring mouth kind, with the front part cut away to the centre perpendicularly; B is the pin; 0 is the link-holder; Gr is the link; F is the trigger; D is the cat-ch; and the re lines show both the link and pin' in working position. I

I use theordinary link and flaring mouth drawhead, except that I cut or cast a notch or recess in the front side of the upper pin-hole, as seen in E, and also a hole, either round or oblong, directlyover the inner end of the link when in gear.

I make my pin with a cleft two and a half inches long and half inch wide in the lower end of the pin, and in this cleft I hang a hinged trigger about a half inch from the lower end of the pin, so that the catch shall project outside of the pin when the trigger hangs free. The trigger is made long enough so that when drawn up into its notch it will hang low enough in the mouth of the drawhead to prevent the link from entering without forcing the catch out of the notch. The trigger is made rigid in its backward movement, but folds up in the other direction. To hold the link in a horizontal position when approaching another car, I place a sufiicient weight on the end inside the drawhead to hold its other end up. I do this by bending the coupling pin over backwards, so that when the pin is in gear the bent part, c, rests on'the top of the link, but it can be bent down with a slight pressure, and is free to bend upward as in the old plan. The pin and trigger can be used without the weighted link, or the link can be weighted independently of the link. '4

Operation: To uncouple the cars the pin is drawn up till the catch D falls or swings into the notch E,

when the link can be drawn out, the trigger being loose in that direction, and the pin is held up till the link strikes the trigger from the front and the catch is thrown back out of the notch, and as the pin falls thetrigger is folded back into the end of the pin, and the whole drops into working position. The pin must be long enough, that when in gear the trigger is free to nnfoldunder the drawhead and hang loose.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The triggered pin constructed as, and for the purpose specified.

2. Theweighted link-holder operating as set forth. i

3. The combination of the weighted link, triggered pin, and drawhead, constructed as and for the purpose described.

THOS. S. MINNISS. Witnesses:

J. H. GiBsoN, f

I. D. Mmniss. 

